Georgia…a bastion of liberalism?

February 22, 2017

National Democrats are already on pace to repeat their recruitment mistakes of 2016.

There are a slew of new stories out today that point to the ongoing civil war between the activist left and the nearly extinct moderate Democrats.

Via McClatchy:

The threats are representative of a rift within the Democratic Party over its midterm election strategy, between its more moderate establishment and an emboldened liberal faction. Many members of the party establishment think its lawmakers, especially those who represent states of districts won by Trump last year, must win over Republican voters by finding times to cooperate with the president.

Via The New York Times: 

Democrats have a different challenge. The party’s increasingly dominant progressive wing could be a liability in these moderate districts. Only two of the 24 most competitive districts went for Bernie Sanders in a primary contest. Many broke for Mrs. Clinton by landslide margins.

The special election in Georgia’s 6th District is a microcosm of said struggle—and House Democrats and liberal outside groups are throwing their support behind a far left candidate.

Via
National Journal:

But the early Demo­crat­ic fa­vor­ite in the race is about as awk­ward a fit for this par­tic­u­lar dis­trict as Demo­crats could find. Jon Os­soff, a self-de­scribed in­vest­ig­at­ive film­maker, is a 29-year-old Bernie Sanders back­er and a former na­tion­al se­cur­ity staffer for lib­er­al Rep. Hank John­son.

Via Roll Call:

End Citizens United, a liberal PAC, is throwing its weight behind Democrat Jon Ossoff in the race to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in Georgia’s 6th District. The endorsement is the latest sign that Democrats want to make a play for this district, which President Donald Trump carried by less than 2 points, and that Ossoff is their top candidate. The former Hill staffer and Atlanta native has already banked half a million dollars in support through the liberal site Daily Kos. Georgia Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson, Ossoff’s former boss, have both endorsed him.